


by the candle

by soren_centric



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Fluff (?, Gen, and decides that he shall stay awake as well, and ike finds him doing so, soren has some feelings, soren stays up late working
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24724030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soren_centric/pseuds/soren_centric
Summary: Soren decides that it's better for him to do something instead of tossing and turning in bed, waiting for sleep to come to him.
Relationships: Ike & Senerio | Soren, Ike/Senerio | Soren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	by the candle

**Author's Note:**

> its three am again, im on brand. not beta read  
> i have many feelings n these r a few

The moon is high.

Soren can't sleep. He's been tossing and turning for a while, but he just  _ can _ ' _ t _ seem to fall asleep no matter how hard he tries. He isn't restless due to anything, the Greil Mercenaries have the next few days off, but something's keeping him up. Tired of lying down and doing nothing, he gets up and grabs the candle from his bedside table.  _ Guess he's going to go work on something _ . Better be productive till he can manage to fall asleep.

He mumbles an incantation to light the candle and grabs his notebook before heading to the council room.

He puts the candle on the table and retrieves an inkpot and a quill before he sits down. He flips through his notebook and collects all the bills and receipts he has pressed between the pages for safekeeping and begins laying them out in an orderly fashion, separating them by what they were for. Once he's done with that, he begins writing their accounts. It's a long process, but it's something that calms Soren down due to the methodical approach to it. It's neat and tidy, and he can make sense of it.

He doesn't know how much time passes, but he hears footsteps once he's done with a third of the work. He looks up just in time to see Ike walk past the entrance to the room, pause, then lean back and look into it. Soren almost smiles at how sleepy and confused Ike looks, but he manages to keep himself in check. Ike's hair, messy without his bandana, is falling into his eyes, making him squint.

"Soren?" Ike asks, stifling a yawn.

"Ike. What are you doing awake?" Soren says, putting the quill down.

"Woke up for water, but more importantly, what are  _ you  _ doing awake?" Ike leans against the door and almost falls asleep right there.

"Couldn't sleep, so I'm writing up our expenses." Soren picks up the quill again.

_ That _ seems to wake Ike up. He blinks a few times and comes closer to the table. "Accounts? At this hour? How long have you been at it?"

Soren doesn't have an answer, so he doesn't say anything.

"You should go sleep, Soren! Accounts will wait for you, sleep won't."

"I'm not sleepy, so it's okay." Soren gives Ike a tiny smile. "And I'm getting work done, which means that I won't have to do it later."

"And be sleepy instead?"

"I'll be fine. One night of not sleeping won't hurt me."

"Then I'll stay here till you're done." Ike walks around the table and sits down beside Soren.

_ Huh? _

_ What? _

Soren stares at Ike. Ike loves to sleep. Ike would sleep all day if he didn't have to get up to eat or go out on missions. Ike has broken records in sleeping amongst the Greil Mercenaries. And he's offering to stay with Soren till he's done with his work? Soren's mouth opens and closes but he doesn't know what to say.

"If one night of not sleeping won't hurt you, it won't hurt me either." Ike says, meeting Soren's concerned stare head on.

"But–" Soren grasps for words and comes up with nothing. "If that's what you want, very well."

Soren goes back to writing the accounts, now with a mild distraction at his side. Said distraction fidgets and stares and yawns, and at one point, lays his head down on Soren's shoulder. He removes it once Soren tenses up, but Soren wishes he'd let it be. He feels oddly nervous but it's a nice feeling. He continues on with renewed energy.

"Your handwriting." Ike starts, after a while of silence.

"Huh?"

"Your handwriting's really neat. Much better than my chicken scratch, anyway. Watching you write is like watching you fight, both mesmerising and clean."

The nervous feeling is back again. Ike says it like it isn't a big deal, but to Soren it  _ is  _ a big deal. He's never particularly liked his handwriting or form of fighting but now, now he… might just like it. A little bit. 

He's almost two thirds done with it when sleep finally settles down on him. Ike is barely awake, drifting between dreams and Soren, head pillowed on his hands folded on the table. His eyes are open just a sliver. Soren, too sleepy now to write or think coherently, stares at Ike instead. His hair looks even softer than usual due to the candlelight, making Soren want to reach out and smooth it down.

"What… what's up?" Ike asks.

Soren shakes his head.

Ike closes his eyes, and after a few seconds, starts snoring lightly. Soren considers his options. His sleep addled brain simply says  _ go for it _ , so he does. He reaches out and smooths out Ike's hair just a little so as to not wake Ike up. Ike's brows, which had been furrowed, smooth out and he sighs in his sleep. Soren forces himself to get up and get blankets for him and Ike, since they've both decided to camp it out in the council room. He could go back to his own bed, but that'd be unfair to Ike. He puts the blanket around ikes shoulders and tucks it in so it doesn't fall off, before wrapping himself up and laying his head down on the table. He tries to match Ike's breathing, which eventually leads to him falling asleep. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


He wakes up to an amused Titania leaning over him. She straightens up when she notices him looking at her.

"Breakfast's ready. Wake Ike and go freshen up." She says. Soren nods and watches as she leaves. 

Ike is still snoring, face peacefully blank. The candle has burnt all the way down. Soren watches Ike for a few moments more before shaking him awake.

"Come on. Breakfast's ready."

He clears up the table and puts the bills and receipts back in-between the pages, decidedly ignoring the few shaky lines in his writing.

**Author's Note:**

> find me @ twitter with the same handle (tumblr is @soren-centered). Please talk to me abt fire emblem i want more fire emblem friends  
> thank u. pls comment.


End file.
